De-Signing Ambiguity

James Dyer; Christian Petersen

De-Signing Ambiguity

James Dyer, Christian Petersen

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

Abstract

The present paper challenges the way ambiguity is made understandable in William W. Gaver, Jacob Beaver, and Steve Benford’s disambiguation of ambiguity (2003). Rather than assuming ambiguity to be an epiphenomenal relation between designed artefacts and their users, which seems to be the argument presented in Ambiguity as a Resource for Design (2003), the present paper finds ambiguity to exist firstly, and at a higher intensity, in the primordial stages of design practices. As such, this paper proposes that ambiguity is primarily a condition of the not-yet-designed artefact. In this way, whilst celebrating their innovative work, the present paper differs from Gaver, Beaver and Benford on two accounts. Firstly, by claiming that all things in the world are inherently ambiguous, and secondly by prioritising the role of ambiguity in the process of designing.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Design Culture(s)
Subtitle of host publication	Cumulus Conference Proceedings Roma 2021
Editors	Loredana Di Lucchio, Lorenzo Imbesi, Angela Giambattista, Viktor Malakuczi
Publisher	Cumulus
Pages	4500-4513
Number of pages	14
Volume	2
ISBN (Print)	9789526490045
Publication status	Published - 1 Jul 2021
Event	Design Culture(s) - Rome, Italy Duration: 8 Jun 2021 → 11 Jun 2021

Publication series

Name	Cumulus Roma
Publisher	Cumulus
Number	7
Volume	2
ISSN (Print)	2490-046X

Conference

Conference	Design Culture(s)
Country/Territory	Italy
City	Rome
Period	8/06/21 → 11/06/21

Cite this

@inproceedings{df3bed5c39b04c6a92c0c96f5c9eccae,

title = "De-Signing Ambiguity",

abstract = "The present paper challenges the way ambiguity is made understandable in William W. Gaver, Jacob Beaver, and Steve Benford{\textquoteright}s disambiguation of ambiguity (2003). Rather than assuming ambiguity to be an epiphenomenal relation between designed artefacts and their users, which seems to be the argument presented in Ambiguity as a Resource for Design (2003), the present paper finds ambiguity to exist firstly, and at a higher intensity, in the primordial stages of design practices. As such, this paper proposes that ambiguity is primarily a condition of the not-yet-designed artefact. In this way, whilst celebrating their innovative work, the present paper differs from Gaver, Beaver and Benford on two accounts. Firstly, by claiming that all things in the world are inherently ambiguous, and secondly by prioritising the role of ambiguity in the process of designing.",

keywords = "Design ontology, Ambiguity, Process, Glass friggers, Bricolage",

author = "James Dyer and Christian Petersen",

year = "2021",

month = jul,

day = "1",

language = "English",

isbn = "9789526490045",

volume = "2",

series = "Cumulus Roma",

publisher = "Cumulus",

number = "7",

pages = "4500--4513",

editor = "{Di Lucchio}, {Loredana } and Imbesi, {Lorenzo } and Giambattista, {Angela } and Malakuczi, {Viktor }",

booktitle = "Design Culture(s)",

address = "Italy",

note = "Design Culture(s) ; Conference date: 08-06-2021 Through 11-06-2021",

}

De-Signing Ambiguity. / Dyer, James; Petersen, Christian.

Design Culture(s): Cumulus Conference Proceedings Roma 2021. ed. / Loredana Di Lucchio; Lorenzo Imbesi; Angela Giambattista; Viktor Malakuczi. Vol. 2 Cumulus, 2021. p. 4500-4513 (Cumulus Roma; Vol. 2, No. 7).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

TY - GEN

T1 - De-Signing Ambiguity

AU - Dyer, James

AU - Petersen, Christian

PY - 2021/7/1

Y1 - 2021/7/1

N2 - The present paper challenges the way ambiguity is made understandable in William W. Gaver, Jacob Beaver, and Steve Benford’s disambiguation of ambiguity (2003). Rather than assuming ambiguity to be an epiphenomenal relation between designed artefacts and their users, which seems to be the argument presented in Ambiguity as a Resource for Design (2003), the present paper finds ambiguity to exist firstly, and at a higher intensity, in the primordial stages of design practices. As such, this paper proposes that ambiguity is primarily a condition of the not-yet-designed artefact. In this way, whilst celebrating their innovative work, the present paper differs from Gaver, Beaver and Benford on two accounts. Firstly, by claiming that all things in the world are inherently ambiguous, and secondly by prioritising the role of ambiguity in the process of designing.

AB - The present paper challenges the way ambiguity is made understandable in William W. Gaver, Jacob Beaver, and Steve Benford’s disambiguation of ambiguity (2003). Rather than assuming ambiguity to be an epiphenomenal relation between designed artefacts and their users, which seems to be the argument presented in Ambiguity as a Resource for Design (2003), the present paper finds ambiguity to exist firstly, and at a higher intensity, in the primordial stages of design practices. As such, this paper proposes that ambiguity is primarily a condition of the not-yet-designed artefact. In this way, whilst celebrating their innovative work, the present paper differs from Gaver, Beaver and Benford on two accounts. Firstly, by claiming that all things in the world are inherently ambiguous, and secondly by prioritising the role of ambiguity in the process of designing.

KW - Design ontology

KW - Ambiguity

KW - Process

KW - Glass friggers

KW - Bricolage

UR - https://cumulusroma2020.org/proceedings-files/DC(s)_PROCEEDINGS_full_vol2.pdf

UR - https://cumulusroma2020.org/proceedings/

M3 - Conference contribution

SN - 9789526490045

VL - 2

T3 - Cumulus Roma

SP - 4500

EP - 4513

BT - Design Culture(s)

A2 - Di Lucchio, Loredana

A2 - Imbesi, Lorenzo

A2 - Giambattista, Angela

A2 - Malakuczi, Viktor

PB - Cumulus

T2 - Design Culture(s)

Y2 - 8 June 2021 through 11 June 2021

ER -

De-Signing Ambiguity

Abstract

Publication series

Conference

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Graphic Events: A Realist Account of Graphic Design

Cite this